This is the true story of scientific child prodigy, and former baby genius, Ainan Celeste Cawley, written by his father. It is the true story, too, of his gifted brothers and of all the Cawley family.
I write also of child prodigy and genius in general: what it is, and how it is so often neglected in the modern world. As a society, we so often fail those we should most hope to see succeed: our gifted children and the gifted adults they become.
Site Copyright: Valentine Cawley, 2006 +

Wednesday, May 01, 2013

On the naming of children and adults.

A couple of days ago, Tiarnan, 7,
approached me with a concerned look in his troubled eyes.

“Do people’s names change when they get
older?” He asked, rather intently.

“Why?”, I invited, softly.

“Because Tiarnan sounds like a little boy’s
name.”, said my little boy, with a not so little frown.

“Tiarnan means Lord.” I said by way of countering him.

He imbibed the word, Lord, and considered
it whether it was worthy. He didn’t seem convinced. Clearly, the sound of the
name, overwhelmed whatever meaning it might have for him.

I found this exchange rather enlightening
for what it says about Tiarnan’s inner thoughts. It is evident that he is
looking ahead, to a time when he would be an adult. He is considering what it
might be like to have his present name, in that time...and finds it wanting. It
also means he is forming external perspectives on his own name, coming to an
understanding of how other (adults) might perceive it. This is quite mature
reflection for such a little boy.

Then again, I wonder who or what has led
him to be unsatisfied with his name. It is a fine name in my view and has a
worthy meaning. I will have to ask him about it.

All our children have well chosen names,
with interesting meanings. Each name is, in effect, a little story. I won’t
delve here, into the full meaning of their names, for that is a personal matter
– but I do believe that names should be chosen with the greatest care.

I hope, one day, Tiarnan might like his
name, as much as we do.

Posted by Valentine Cawley

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2 Comments:

Fun Fact: I named my last child after Tiarnan from this very blog. I liked the name immensely and my daughter, 3, is named Phoebe Tighearnan. I used an older spelling and it's one of her middle names. Your son might be interested to know...

This is the true story of scientific child prodigy, and former baby genius, Ainan Celeste Cawley, written by his father. It is the true story, too, of his gifted brothers and of all the Cawley family.
I write also of child prodigy and genius in general: what it is, and how it is so often neglected in the modern world. As a society, we so often fail those we should most hope to see succeed: our gifted children and the gifted adults they become.
Site Copyright: Valentine Cawley, 2006 +

About Me

As a child, I had many gifts...perhaps too many - and this leads to the characteristic problem many gifted children face: what to do, when there is so much you COULD do. I resolved the issue by doing each of them serially throughout my life. I had gifts in science, writing, art, music, acting and academia...and so my life has demonstrated each of these, at some time. However, in the modern world, those who specialize, and focus all their efforts on one thing, tend to win through. In the light of this I have written two books, which are being prepared for publication.
I was a child in a time when being gifted was not something people spoke about: it was not a widely recognized situation - at least not in my background. Nothing special was done therefore, to help. It is my wish that all in that position, these days, receive the support that is needed, to become the best they can be.
I have been an actor, a writer of two books, a government physicist, at age 17, the founding editor of an Arts magazine, at 22, and a performance artist whose work was covered by CNN (interviewer: Richard Blystone) and Reuters. However, my greatest achievement is to have fathered three sons.